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19.11.2012

The First Common Operation in the Western Balkan Region facilitated by DCAF yields significant results

Western Balkan region - For the first time in history, the border police authorities of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia joined forces and conducted a common operation in border inspections at seven regional border crossings, facilitated by the DCAF Border Security Programme. The first Common Operation in the Western Balkan Region took place between 11th and 18th November 2012, and was the first one ever to take place in the Western Balkans, utilising the Police Cooperation Convention for Southeast Europe (PCC SEE) as the legal basis. 5 states hosted foreign uniformed and armed police officers at their Border Crossing Points and 7 states sent their experts abroad. The common endeavour represents an excellent example of transferring EU/Schengen standards to the region. At the same time, it demonstrated the preparedness of the Western Balkan countries to cooperate and share the responsibility for their own security. Operational measures, facilitated under the auspices of the Programme, aim at threats to regional border integrity, i.e. those of organized and cross-border crime and illegal migration, which have for a long time had no regard for borders and have affected not only the region itself but the entire European security area.